These treats that are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside probably won’t be forgotten once you taste them. The name comes from the old method – popular at Jewish bakeries such as Gottlieb’s Bakery in Savannah, Georgia – of making meringue cookies where the cookies first bake and then are allowed to cool in the oven turned off.
As written, the recipe is gluten free, with cornstarch as a binder. You can also follow Gottlieb’s pattern more closely by substituting 2 tablespoons of flour. To make these cookies kosher for Passover, you can use potato starch in place of corn.
We do not recommend leaving out the nuts, as they are essential for adding volume to the dough.
Get Ahead: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Servings:
30
Size tested: 30 servings
Ingredients
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2 3/4 cups (275 grams) icing sugar
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1/2 cup (42 grams) generous unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or processed in the Netherlands)
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1 tablespoon of cornstarch (see note)
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Pinch of kosher salt
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3 large egg whites
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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2 cups (234 grams) finely chopped pecans or walnuts
instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Place the icing sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Beat on low speed just to combine the dry ingredients. Add the egg whites and beat on low speed to incorporate the whites, then increase the speed to high and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla and pecans or walnuts.
Scoop or drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets (about 15 per sheet). Bake one sheet at a time, 12 to 15 minutes, until cookies are shiny and firm on the outside but still a little soft on the inside. (Smaller cookies cook faster.) Remove baking sheet from oven and let cookies rest for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the other baking sheet.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Recipe source
Adapted from “American Cookie”, by Anne Byrn (Rodale Books, 2018).
Tested by Becky Krystal and Jacob Brogan.
Email your questions to the Food section at [email protected].
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